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You're able, please stand for 
the reading of God's word. 

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Are we in today comes from the 
Gospel of John chapter 14 verses

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1 through 14. 
Let not your hearts be troubled.

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Believe in God believe. 
Also in me. 

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In my father's house are many 
rooms. 

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If it were not. 
So would I have told you that I 

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go to prepare a place for you 
and if I go and prepare a place 

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for you, I will come again. 
And we'll take you to myself 

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that where I am, you may be 
also. 

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And you know, the way to where 
I'm going Thomas said to him, 

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Lord we do not know where you 
are going, how can we know the 

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way? 
Jesus said to him, I am the way 

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and the truth and the life. 
No one comes to the father, 

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except through me. 
If you had known me, you would 

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have known my father. 
Also, From now on you do know 

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him and you have seen him Philip
said to him Lord show us the 

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father and it is enough for us. 
Jesus said to him, have I been 

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with you so long and you still 
do not know me? 

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Philip Whoever has seen me, has 
seen the father. 

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How can you say, show us the 
father? 

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Do you not believe that I am in 
the father? 

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And the father is in me? 
The words that I say to you, I 

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do not speak on my own authority
but the father who dwells in me 

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does his Works, believe me that 
I am in the father and the 

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father is in me or else believe 
on the count of The Works 

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themselves. 
Truly truly, I say to you, 

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whoever believes in me will also
do the works that I do and 

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greater Works than these will he
do? 

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Because I am going to the 
father, whatever you ask in my 

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name, this, I will do that. 
The father may be glorified in 

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the son, if you ask me anything 
in my name, I will do it. 

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This is the word of the Lord. 
You may be seated. 

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Around the Leopold, family 
dinner table, our kids are 

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always asking us to hear stories
from our childhood. 

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They want to know, when Mom and 
Dad were little, what was it? 

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Like, it's usually the same 10 
stories that they asked over and

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over again. 
And for some reason they really 

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like the stories when Dad got 
hurt. 

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I don't really know what that's 
about but those are the ones 

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they want to hear over and over 
again. 

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And I'm always Just fascinated, 
how interested they are in it. 

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It doesn't matter how many times
they've heard it. 

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They want to hear it again. 
I think it shows us a bit of our

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Humanity. 
God is gracious and our children

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to show us a bit of who we are 
that. 

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We're kind of sometimes a little
bit too hard of heart to admit 

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when we're adults, but we need 
stories. 

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We need stories to make sense of
the journey that were on. 

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We're going to call it a little 
bit of the way that we're on 

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today. 
The stories we tell are like 

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road signs along the ways of 
life for kids and helps them. 

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Make sense of this new world 
that they're living in how to 

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make sense of getting bigger in 
the world for parents. 

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For ordered people, we just need
stories to remind us of what is 

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familiar to help us. 
Come back to what we know when 

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the world seems very uncertain 
and very uneasy Jesus, The 

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Shepherd of our souls knew, his 
disciples would need to hear 

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stories and we're going to look 
at this great. 

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I am statement today, but I want
to remind us that it's in the 

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context of a story. 
Jesus knew that the disciples 

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would need truth to mark their 
way. 

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Robbie reminded us of the 
context of what we're doing. 

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He is ready to go on his way to 
the cross. 

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And as we prepare our hearts to 
receive a new the significance 

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of the Resurrection, we want to 
relive the drama of what 

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transpired in Jerusalem 2000 
years ago. 

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And we were getting to see some 
of the signposts that Jesus left

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for the disciples for their way 
on the journey. 

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So yes, this well-known 
statement of I am a lot of are 

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passages of scripture will 
contain an IM statement this 

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week on Sunday looked at I am 
the resurrection and the life 

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today we're looking at I am the 
way the truth and the life that 

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no one comes to the father. 
Except through me, Jesus said 

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this and I think it's easy 
because in Christianity we hear 

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that that verse over and over 
again we think it's just a 

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doctrinal statement of fact but 
let's remember that it comes to 

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us in response to a question. 
And Jesus is approaching a 

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friend. 
I love that. 

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We just sang. 
What a friend we have in Jesus. 

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Jesus is approaching a friend 
and telling in responding to his

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question and we're going to 
actually look at a little bit of

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the life of that friend Thomas. 
It's kind of interesting. 

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The Gospel of John is the only 
gospel that really tells us more

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about the life of Thomas so I 
think we should pay attention to

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it. 
The other gospel is just merely 

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list him as on the list of 
disciples but he has kind of 

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several different Experiences in
the Gospel of John chapter 11, 

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he he's actually involved with 
the raising of Lazarus and verse

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16. 
He talks about. 

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He actually makes this appeal 
that he wants to go and die to 

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like Lazarus. 
It's kind of this Brazen moment 

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of Courage that he's just kind 
of throwing himself into the 

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story and saying, yes, I want to
die to not fully understanding 

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the purpose of what Jesus was 
doing. 

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Through raising Lazarus from the
dead here. 

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In chapter 14, we see this 
question and and verse 5 that 

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Jesus is asking, are the Thomas 
is asking of Jesus. 

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Despite kind of rather in fatica
Lee just before that Jesus tells

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him the answer to his question 
and verse 4 and will go on to 

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see you later on in the gospel 
Thomas would have been among the

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disciples who would leave Jesus 
side during his trial and 

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crucifixion. 
Many of us know the famous 

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moments with Thomas and Chapter 
20, The Gospel of John that the 

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doubting Thomas moment, how he 
gets his Infamous name, where he

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is needing to see the wounds of 
Jesus in his hands in order to 

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believe that Jesus had truly 
died and come back to life. 

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Jesus lovingly responded to him,
he allowed him to touch and then

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actually exhorted him that those
are blessed who believe with who

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have not seen and yet believe In
the the funny thing from that 

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moment to from Jesus exert from 
Thomas, experiencing Jesus the 

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resurrected Jesus we know from 
church history Thomas would go 

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on from that moment to preach 
the gospel to plant churches and

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Persia China. 
And India and many believe he 

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was actually martyred for his 
faith at the end of his life. 

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So who is this? 
Thomas he's certainly more than 

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just doubting Thomas that we 
Year from a lot of phrases. 

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I actually see some courage in 
him. 

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We know that he just followed 
Jesus. 

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He was one of his disciples he 
picked up, he just left what he 

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had there and picked up, what he
could carry and follow Jesus. 

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And yet we see continually that 
he sort of misunderstands Jesus 

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comments, particularly when it 
comes to his death and 

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Resurrection. 
And here we come to verses 23 

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and four in our passage and kind
of the essence of Thomas is 

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question. 
And actually, you know, Thomas 

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kind of gets called out. 
He has a bad rap, but I would 

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venture to say all of the 
disciples were asking this 

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question, Thomas, just kind of 
represents them in this moment, 

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they just fully have not fully 
grasp. 

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What Jesus has said about the 
destination on the way Even 

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though in verses 23, Jesus 
plainly tells them where it is, 

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that Jesus is going and where it
is, that he's going to take them

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Thomas, wanted more information.
It's hard to kind of say why 

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that is I sort of see myself in 
Thomas, so I can make some some 

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Ventures to say. 
Maybe his mind, just didn't 

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fully comprehend, the idea of 
Heaven quite yet. 

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Maybe it was his heart, maybe 
his heart could not handle the 

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idea of losing a friend that he 
has been with for three years. 

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Maybe it was just his will. 
Maybe he was unwilling to leave 

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behind what they knew in this 
world to the idea of what would 

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be coming in the next. 
The The what we see in the 

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beauty of Jesus here is he just 
didn't take Thomas's question 

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and directly answer it. 
He could have said silly Thomas 

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he could have said, did you not 
just hear what I just said, but 

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he didn't say that. 
He offered himself. 

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Jesus showed that Thomas. 
Was asking a question that would

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lead to a less significant 
answer. 

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He doesn't even actually say 
Thomas and say why did you ask 

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that question? 
He just gives a lovingly kind of

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change of perspective. 
Thomas asked, the how, how is it

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going to be and Jesus answered 
with the who who was going to 

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be? 
And I think we're all a little 

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bit more, like, Thomas than we'd
like to admit. 

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I struggle with reducing faith 
in Jesus to just simply learning

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facts, about Jesus, purely 
intellectually ascending to 

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those thoughts about him, that 
that's what Christina is all 

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about. 
There's these beliefs and as the

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in to believe them and that's 
it. 

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And yes to be a Christian means 
to believe a baseline of truths 

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if we're going to follow Jesus. 
We have to believe something 

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about him in order to follow him
and we do have to intellectually

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Ascend to those truths. 
But it's more much more than 

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that. 
When one puts their faith in 

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Jesus. 
Yes, our whole world view 

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changes, but I ask the question.
Are we following a worldview or 

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are we following a person? 
We can't forget the love of the 

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Savior. 
The love of the savior is, what 

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has transformed our minds to see
the world differently? 

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We don't have the facts about 
God, apart from dependence on 

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the Savior, the way, the truth, 
and the life. 

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00:11:07,700 --> 00:11:11,200
How are you tempted to try to 
rationalize God instead of 

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actively taking the hand of the 
Savior? 

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So Jesus doesn't always tell us 
the wire. 

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How But he always gives him 
himself. 

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Verse one, from our passive 
says, let not your hearts. 

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Be troubled, believe in God. 
And also believe in me. 

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And, and Jesus goes on to 
describe himself as the way. 

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But what was the way that Jesus 
was going to take and making 

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himself the way the truth and 
the life for us? 

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00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:49,000
we remember that Jesus from this
point on, in the story, he would

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continue to teach For another 
way. 

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I'm not that other couple days 
of preaching here, so come back 

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for it. 
Jesus would continue to teach he

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would sweat blood. 
He would beg the father for 

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another way. 
He would be betrayed. 

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He would receive Injustice. 
He would then be beaten flogged 

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bloodied, put on the crown of 
thorns, his hands and feet, 

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nailed to the cross. 
Die. 

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An agonizing suffocating death 
and then feel the torment of his

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soul in hell. 
All this to make our way, look a

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little different. 
What about our way? 

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For those who put their trust in
Jesus, knowing that Jesus has 

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00:12:38,900 --> 00:12:41,800
taken the way of judgment and 
destruction so that we may have 

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00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:46,000
the way of truth and life. 
He has changed our way to look 

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00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:47,500
something a little more like 
this. 

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00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:51,500
These are promises taken from 
Psalm 23, but in different 

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words, the way to trust and is 
Shepherd a Good Shepherd who 

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00:12:56,400 --> 00:13:00,200
feeds his sheep everything. 
They need along the way, the 

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00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:05,600
Sheep do not want the way of 
being led by him to Green 

200
00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:10,900
Pastures even when we fight him,
the way of being led beside 

201
00:13:10,900 --> 00:13:15,600
Still Waters, The way of being 
restored at the level of our 

202
00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,900
soul. 
The way of knowing what is 

203
00:13:18,900 --> 00:13:22,600
right? 
The way of Freedom From Fear 

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even though the darkness of 
death looms closely. 

205
00:13:27,500 --> 00:13:30,100
The way of comfort that comes 
from the protection of the 

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00:13:30,100 --> 00:13:34,100
shepherd. 
The way of provision knowing 

207
00:13:34,100 --> 00:13:37,700
that a table is set for us, even
though our enemies are close 

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00:13:37,700 --> 00:13:41,000
around. 
The way of being anointed to 

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00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,500
preach the message of the way, 
the truth, and the life that has

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00:13:44,500 --> 00:13:49,000
been given to us. 
The way of knowing God will 

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00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,900
never leave us all the days of 
our life and that our future is 

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00:13:52,900 --> 00:13:55,400
secure in the house of the Lord 
forever. 

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00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,200
I encourage you throughout the 
state of look back at Psalm 23 

214
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and just reflect on how our way 
is different because Jesus Took 

215
00:14:02,700 --> 00:14:04,400
the way of Destruction and 
death. 

216
00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:09,700
I said earlier my introduction 
that Jesus gave his disciples 

217
00:14:09,700 --> 00:14:13,900
stories as signpost to mark 
their way as he was on his way 

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00:14:13,908 --> 00:14:17,400
to the cross. 
The statement was true but it 

219
00:14:17,408 --> 00:14:19,900
was incomplete. 
D. 

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00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,100
Jesus didn't just give them 
stories. 

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00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:26,700
He gave them himself and that is
what they needed. 

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00:14:28,700 --> 00:14:31,600
I'm gonna close us in a time of 
prayer and an after my prayer, 

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00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:33,800
we're going to have a time of 
Silent reflection for yourself, 

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00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:36,400
as you consider the way the 
truth and the life. 

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00:14:43,500 --> 00:14:46,700
God, we thank you for your 
graciousness to take our 

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00:14:46,700 --> 00:14:51,400
questions and to ask to 
transform them and give us truth

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God, we confess that we are 
often tempted to ask the how 

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when we need to be asking The 
Who God is a church body, we 

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come to troubled. 
We come to you in a state of 

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suffering. 
And yet we are grateful that you

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have given us yourself. 
God, I pray that you would help 

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us to. 
Remember that there are the 

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truths of who you are important 
but ultimately that you extend 

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the hand to us. 
Help us to know when to take the

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hand to even see in that hand. 
The the nails on the cross, the 

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holes in your hands from the 
nails on the cross. 

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And to come to you and worship 
Independence, and have our view 

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of this world transformed 
because of it. 

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And to come to you and worship 
Independence, and have our view 

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of this world transformed 
because of it.